Highland fire evacuees still unsure when they can return home

Photo Galleries:Apartments unsafe to occupy | Apartment fire SAN BERNARDINO -- After a long night sleeping on cots in the San Gorgonio High School gymnasium, evacuees from Sunday's apartment complex fire in Highland played basketball, badminton and talked to disaster relief workers Monday morning, waiting for word about when they can return home. There was anxiousness all around - from people who wanted to return to their apartments, or families who lost everything in the blaze and didn't know where they'd be moving.

"We'll see today if we can go home," said Anna Tuitavuki, whose apartment was spared.

The fire in the 7400 block of Elm Street raced through the top floor of the complex while some residents still slept. The blaze caused serious damage to eight units and minor damage to others.

Blackened cable lines, charred wood beams and fragments of roofing remained in front of the complex Monday when code enforcement personnel arrived to assess the damage.

Kim Burry, owner of the building, said eight units are uninhabitable, but he owns another complex and plans to have apartments ready for the families who lost their homes.

"We'll help with the transfer of furniture or whatever else they need," he said.

Scott Sherwood, operations manager for the Inland Empire Red Cross, said 45 people, including six small children, stayed at the shelter overnight. He expected to close the shelter at the high school by Monday afternoon, once residents were allowed to return home.

Still, shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, a pink notice posted on a back entry door of the complex stated, "Substandard building - Do not enter - unsafe to occupy. "

Until then, evacuees waited in the gym, recounting how quickly they had to flee for their lives.

One was Claudio Cedeno, who woke up to find smoke pouring into her apartment.

"I just grabbed my kids and got out," she said.

Cedeno has lived at the complex with four of her children for about three years.

Evacuating from a fire was something she's never experienced.

She was unable to grab any valuables before the ceiling on her apartment collapsed. But the only thing she seemed concerned about was the food for her children that was in the refrigerator.

"I don't care about the other stuff," she said.

Carlos Ramos, 28, who lived in an apartment underneath the unit where the fire started, also lost all his belongings in the blaze. He had enough time to grab a blanket and a pair of jeans.

"I wasn't able to save anything," he said.

He had only lived at the complex two months.

Fire investigators had not determined a cause for the blaze, said Cal Fire spokesman Glenn Barley.

"Often that takes more than a couple days to narrow that down," he said.